Necromancer

Key Features

Commander of the Dead

Terrifying golems, skeleton warriors and mages march at the necromancer’s whim. On command, these loyal troops assault a single enemy in unison, overwhelming individual foes with sheer numbers. Necromancers can use their throngs of undead to create diversions, or to simply open a path for their master to escape to safety.

Want Not, Waste Not

Necromancers take advantage of many resources. By calling on Essence (energy harvested from living and dead beings), summoning the fading life force of corpses, and even sacrificing their own health, the Priests of Rathma ensure they are seldom helpless or powerless. Any living or dead being, even the necromancer, can be a weapon, a tool to be used on the battlefield against the Burning Hells.

Crowd Control

With their crippling curses, necromancers stop enemies dead on their tracks. The skeletal minions at the necromancer’s disposal also disrupt enemy lines and scatter their ranks, making them easy prey for both the Priests and their allies.

Destruction

Commanding the dizzying array of bone and blood spells at their disposal, and piles of the dead in their wake, necromancers excel at area clearing and quickly defeating large groups of enemies. Once the first enemy falls, a barrage of exploding corpses and bone spikes follow suit, until the battlefield is littered with the bloody remains of once-bloodthirsty demons.

Resource:
Essence

To overwhelm those who attempt to disrupt the Balance, necromancers rely on Essence. They use it to animate the dead, curse enemies, and command minions.

As a static resource, necromancers only have as much Essence as they harvest from their enemies. It does not fill up slowly over time, nor does it decay. Due to this peculiarity, necromancers who are careless may find themselves out of Essence when they need it most.

Necromancers who make the most of their power embrace the balance between exhausting Essence reserves and obtaining more from enemies, forever looking to the next battle. A necromancer with a full Essence pool is a terrifying adversary indeed—but they must carefully use their spells to keep enemies at bay.

See Also

Necromancers are ruthless commanders, and masters of life and death. These dark spellcasters reanimate the dead as skeletal remains, curse their enemies with deadly magics, and further torment them with the carcasses of their defeated fellows.

Life and death are part of a greater cycle, and necromancers are not afraid to walk the line between both. They willfully use their own life force to fuel powerful abilities and gain the upper hand in combat. Being at death’s door does not concern them if no adversaries remain to deal the killing blow.

Necromancers prefer to strike from a distance, unleashing destruction from afar. The skeletal undead under their command overwhelm enemies before they have a chance to strike, and the horrific curses the necromancers employ cripple even the most resistant of demons.

Background

"All who oppose me...beware."

The Priests of Rathma—also known as Necromancers—live and die by a simple philosophy: that the eternal struggle between light and darkness is never-ending, and that Sanctuary is threatened by both sides of that war. Only by preserving the balance and keeping those opposing forces at bay, one can hope to make the world a better place.

Members of this order are unique , and often reviled for their use of death magic. Though such power is often abused in Sanctuary, the Priests of Rathma strive to use it to preserve to the Balance they hold sacred.

When they do venture out from their home deep within the jungles of Kehjistan, roving Priests of Rathma do whatever it takes to safeguard their world from ruin.

Equipment

Priests of Rathma favor the use of unerring scythes. Their scythes are used not to hew crops, but to collect the life force of their foes, and to slice open corpses, powering some of their most horrifying spells. Whether they wield massive curved blades at the end of long poles, or curled, light blades more appropriate for finely harvesting organs, necromancers are deadly with any scythe. They’re also trained in the use of phylacteries, unusual objects that enhance their power over the dead.

Armor Progression

Newly anointed Priests of Rathma cannot afford to be picky. They dress in basic robes, dark clothing that protects as much as thin vellum and light weaponry—whatever they can scrounge from defeated enemies.

Adroit necromancers face more dangerous foes, and thus exercise more care in protecting exposed areas of their bodies with resistant shoulderpads, leather tunics, and shinguards.

Elite Priests of Rathma are frightful visages of calcified bone and marrow, covered head to toe in thick armor that’s resistant even to the most terrifying demons.